“You dance love; you dance, joy, you dance dreams.”(Gene Kelly, 1985)

“I’ll capture her heart singing.” (Irving Berlin 1942)

As I conclude this year of blogs on The Many Faces of Romance  In The Movie Musical, I  am once again drawn to the song and dance man as a romantic figure, or in this case, figures --  Bing Crosby (song) and Fred Astaire and Danny Kaye  (dance). The question of which genre holds the most appeal is evident in a musical exchange between Crosby and Astaire:

Crosby: “I’ll capture her heart singing!”

Astaire: “I’ll take her strolling down the road with my dancing.”

Crosby: “I can’t go wrong; a tender song, and she’ll discover my charms.”

Astaire: “Some fancy taps, and she’ll collapse and fall right into my arms.”

Crosby:  “I’ll capture her heart singing!”
Astaire: “Oh no, you haven’t a chance when I go into my dance.”

Welcome to the November - December 2023 Edition ~ I’ll Capture Her Heart: The Romance of Song and Dance in Holiday Inn and White Christmas.

As seen in the above exchange from Holiday Inn, rivalry is the motivating factor for romancing Lila Dixon and Linda Mason.

Crooner Jim Hardy and dancer Ted Hanover are partners to Lila Dixon in a nightclub act. On the eve of Jim’s last performance (he intends to marry Lila, give up the “grind,” and spend his days being “lazy” on a farm in Connecticut), he discovers Ted is in love with Lila. Lila wants to marry Ted. They want to continue dancing. (“making people happy with our feet.”) Proving  to Jim, “Oh no, you haven’t a chance when I go into my dance.”

Relieved (“What a narrow squeak that was!”), the former nightclub performer turned holiday innkeeper meets beautiful singer Linda Mason on a snowy Connecticut afternoon. After a fireside  White Christmas duet, demonstrating a sweet melding of their voices, they begin a relationship based on performing at the Inn.

With a grand New Year’s Eve opening and a Valentine with a cautionary tone (Be Careful It’s My Heart), Jim and Linda grow closer, indicating that perhaps his assertion (“I can’t go wrong; a tender song, and she’ll discover my charms.”), is true.

Linda may have discovered Jim’s charms, but Ted’s dancing sweeps her off her feet and introduces her to the glamour of a Hollywood career. To ensure she stays with him, Ted proposes marriage.

Jim responds to the news in a letter, “I read about your engagement to Ted. Congratulations. Now your Hollywood success is complete.”

Heartbroken, Jim closes the Inn. On Thanksgiving Day, Mamie finds him pouting and provides a tongue-lashing that reminds him of his charm. (“You could melt her heart right down to butter! If you only turn on the heat!”)

For Linda, Jim’s heat is a lovely rendition of the song that brought them together on a distant  Christmas Eve by the fireside -- White Christmas.

As Linda and Jim find their way back to each other, their romance begins anew, and they discover that you really “can’t go wrong with a tender song.”

A tender song may have romanced a girl in  Connecticut, but it’s a dance that romances a girl (Judy Haynes) in Florida when she meets hoofer Phil Davis.

Judy and Betty Haynes are a sister act performing at Novello’s Supper Club when  Bob Wallace and Phil Davis come to see them at the request of an “old pal in the army” (Bennie Haynes).

Although he protests, (“We could have been out with Doris and Rita!”), upon meeting Judy and inviting her to dance (“let’s say it with music”), he discovers, “the best things happen while you’re dancing. For dancing soon becomes romancing when you hold a girl in your arms that you’ve never held before.” 

When the dance ends, Judy confesses to getting carried away. Taking her hand, Phil agrees. (“She carried me right with her. I don’t weigh very much.”)  With one dance and holding hands, romance blossoms, and Judy and Phil are never far from each other for the remainder of the film.

A  budding romance is more challenging to find for Bob Wallace. Although he admits to a desire to marry (“Someday the right girl’s gonna come along, and if she’ll have me, we’ll settle down and start having those nine kids.”) he has doubts.  (“The kind of girls we meet in this business, they’re young, they’re ambitious, full of their own careers.)  So, Phil takes up the challenge to help his friend find the right girl.

Upon meeting Betty Haynes, Phil asks, “Are you interested in families or children?” When she answers affirmatively, Phil continues, “Imagine a girl in show business wanting to settle down and  raise a family.”   These observations are designed to open the door to the romance and love Bob seeks. However, during a quiet conversation about the business of show business and the idea of working angles to get what you want,  Betty’s verbal language (“My sister and I don’t work angles!”) differs sharply from her body language as her chair moves closer to Bob.

When they meet again on a train to New York and Vermont, Betty’s language softens as she thanks Bob for his generous gift of two train tickets and would be pleased if he could visit.

Bob agrees as he looks forward to skiing, hot buttered rum, and snow, while Phil and Judy look forward to getting Betty and Bob together.

One night, during rehearsals for the Wallace and Davis production of Playing Around, Bob and Betty find themselves in the snack bar (courtesy of a Judy-Phil scheme). Complaining of insomnia, Bob offers Betty advice with a song. (Count Your Blessings) and a kiss, proving that the crooner “can’t go wrong with a song.”

Romance initiated. Bob and Betty should look forward to some happiness, but only if they can get out of their own way. This seems impossible because they allow secrets and lies to invade their relationship and ultimately watch as their love leaves.

When Betty boards the train for New York, Bob attempts to get her back. (“Where are you going? If I said anything. I didn’t mean!”) But he is only successful when he explains on national television that the Christmas Show is a way “to give the nicest Christmas present to the nicest guy we’ll ever know.”

Realizing her error in judgment, Betty returns to Vermont, and Bob captures her heart as White Christmas is heard in the background.

Isn’t it amazing what a dance, a song, and a little understanding can do for romance?

Thank you for joining me for another year of blogs surrounding twelve of the finest Movie Musicals ever made.

Each year, I enjoy bringing new perspectives to the classic movie musical. As I delve deeper and deeper into these films,  I discover more relevant themes, proving that the classic movie musical never goes out of style!

Wishing you a joyful and safe holiday season! season! season! season!

Be sure to join me in 2024 for new perspectives on the Classic Movie Musical.

If you like what you see, please leave a kind comment. I would love to hear from you!

~~~Lori